Born in Dundee in 1930 he moved to London in the late 1940s and first came to the notice of the London jazz community sitting in at Club XI. The hot, flaring like Navarro approach and superb improvising skills of the young man in RAF uniform attracted the attention of Johnny Dankworth who got him to join the Seven in 1950. When he moved to the Geraldo orchestra in 1951 his arranging talent emerged and he developed this further with Jack Parnell in 1952 to 1955. he also worked with Ronnie Scott in his legendary nine-piece band and Tony Crombie and in 1956 toured with Lionel Hampton. In 1957 he toured America with Ronnie Scott before joining Kurt Edelhagen's radio orchestra in Germany which was his main employment until 1971. He again worked with Ronnie Scott 1960 to 1962. He worked with Tubby Hayes in the late 1950's and again 1962 to 1966.

He spent a lot of time in Germany arranging and playing commercially with the Edelhagen orchestra, and was lost to the UK jazz scene for long periods. From 1955 to 1958 he recorded five sessions under his own name, (detailed below), for the Tempo independent label that are regarded as some of the most organised and musically rewarding British modern jazz of the era.
Deuchar also featured in Tubby Hayes' infrequent big band (itself an outgrowth of the Downbeat Big Band which Deuchar had led before moving to Cologne). During the early 1960s Deuchar briefly co-led a quintet with the
trombonist Keith Christie, and then joined the New Tubby Hayes Quintet. Jimmy Deuchar and Tubby Hayes recorded together on many ocassions and made a formidable front line, and it was no surprise when Deuchar accepted the trumpet chair in Hayes' new quintet in early 1962. continued top right...

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The recordings the group made, (including the official Fontana releases Late Spot At Scott's and Down in The Village and the privately recorded live sets on Tribute To Tubbs, Night and Day and both volumes of Live In London) are some of the finest British hard bop ever recorded.
This group survived until 1964 and on it's break up Jimmy returned to Germany, not returning to Britain until the 1970s, when he returned to Scotland and concentrated on writing and arranging for a number of British and continental bands. He had long periods of ill health and he did not record and made few live appearences but his arranging flourished and he wrote many scores for the Jack Sharpe big band and Jazz Seven.
He made what was called a 'come back' record in 1979. His final recordings in 1989, made with the Jack Sharpe big band resuscitated the library of the old Tubby Hayes' band (including Deuchar's own scores), but ill health plagued him and he died in 1993.
Undoubtedly the outstanding British modern jazz trumpeter of the 1950's, Deuchar's trumpet playing hero was Fats Navarro, the tragically short-lived genius who had created one of the most lyrical of the bebop styles at the close of the 1940s. Like Navarro, Deuchar had a broad and fat tone that rarely ventured into the extremities of the instrument's upper register, an excellent technique and played with a lot of invention and first class control. A stylish arranger, the record dates he led were never just 'blowing' sessions.
He recorded few sessions under his own name as leader, and because of this the listing below is almost certainly incomplete and should be regarded as 'work in progress'.... Memories of Jimmy Deuchar,The new Tubby Hayes Quintet,Jimmy Deuchar (1985)...,

"Jimmy Deuchar was the one who really made me start taking music seriously. I'd been on the road with big bands from 1952-54 and didn't worry much about anything, except having a ball! Then that Christmas came the group at the old Flamingo with Jimmy and Terry Shannon, Pete Blannin and Bill Eyden. Jimmy was so good that I had to try. Jimmy was a great help when I started to write too..."Tubby Hayes, 1957.

"Jimmy Deuchar has been probably the most mature and complete all-round musician in British jazz. Jimmy is a 'natural' born musician. As a trumpet player he ranks among the best ever heard here. he can read almost anything on sight, and blow jazz on sequences he's never seen before. He has tremendous awareness of what is going on around him in the band. He anticipates well. He has an incredible aptitude for instinctively 'right' phrasing and for dynamics, and a big broad singing sound. He also has that feeling for jazz, both harmonically and rhythmically, that cannot be acquired and which must be innate...Tony Hall, 1958.

July 29th, 1950 (Esquire)personnel as May 18th except that Eric Dawson replaced Joe Muddel, add Marion Williams (vcl).
Sam's Song (MW vcl)/Haunted Ballroom Theme (JD plays cl)/Seven Not Out*/Cherokee*.(*Charly/Esquire 4 CD box set - bebop IN BRITAIN - issued in 1991 currently only available second hand...)(^Salvo 4CD Box set - I Hear Music - A Celebration of the Life and Work of Cleo Laine & John Dankworth)

October 14th, 1950 (Esquire)personnel as July 29th except Frank Holder replaces Marion Williams.
Perhaps/*Get Happy*/Lament And Wild Dance/Don't Blame Me (FH vcl)^.(*Charly/Esquire 4 CD box set - bebop IN BRITAIN - issued in 1991 currently only available second hand...)(^Salvo 4CD Box set - I Hear Music - A Celebration of the Life and Work of Cleo Laine & John Dankworth)

Johnny Dankworth Seven - July 12th, 1951 (Esquire)personnel as July 29th, 1950.
I Hear Music*^/Leon Bismark*^/The Slider*^#/Webb City*.(*Charly/Esquire 4 CD box set - bebop IN BRITAIN - issued in 1991 currently only available second hand...)(#Giant Steps 2CD set - Soho After Dark 'London's '50s Modern Jazz Scene')(^Salvo 4CD Box set - I Hear Music - A Celebration of the Life and Work of Cleo Laine & John Dankworth)

Ronnie Scott Jazz Group - December 1st, 1952 (Esquire 32.001)Ronnie Scott (ts), Derek Humble (as), Jimmy Deuchar (tp), Ken Wray (tb), Benny Green (bs), Norman Stenfalt (p), Lennie Bush (b), Tony Crombie (d). This was an ad-hoc line-up for a BBC World Service broadcast which was
prophetically to form the personnel, within a weeks, of the legendary Ronnie
Scott nine-piece band.With the exception of Popo this was the first Esquire 12" LP issued. Three further World Service
broadcasts appeared on Esquire (32.002, 003 and 006)
All The Things You are*^/Pantagrulian*^/Mullenium*^/Nemo^/Got The Message/The
Nearness Of You^/The Champ*^/Popo*^.(*Giant Steps Records CD - Great Scott)
(^Time Music International CD - Ronnie Scott Live at the Jazz Club)(#Giant Steps 2CD set - Soho After Dark 'London's '50s Modern Jazz Scene')(^Proper Records 4CD Box set - Ronnie Scott "Boppin' With Scott")

The recording detailed below was made at the BBC Studios in London some time in 1956 but was never released in any format until Gearbox Records issued a limited edition of 500 vinyl LPs in June, 2011...Ronnie Scott Quintet - 1956 (Gearbox GB1508)Ronnie Scott (ts), Jimmy Deuchar (tp), Terry Shannon (p), Lennie Bush (b), Allan Ganley (d).
Times A Wastin'/Gone With The Wind/I'll Take Romance/Speak Low/Bass House/IPA Special.

This was Jimmy Deuchar's first recording for this popular German band...Kurt Edelhagen - July 10th to 13th July, 1957 (Kurt Edelhagen - Polydor LPHM46052 (Germany))Big band including Jimmy Deuchar (tp,arr), Derek Humble (as,arr), and Ken Wray (tb)...

The CD set below was compiled from three live sessions at Ronnie Scott's club. One night included musicians "sitting in" from the visiting Duke Ellington band, but the music was not issued in any format until Candid label issued the 2 CD set in 2010...Tubby Hayes and others - 1964 (Ronnie Scott's)combined personnels include Tubby Hayes, Sal Nistico (ts), Cat Anderson, Rolf Ericson (tp) and Jimmy Deuchar (tp,mell).
Intro by Ronnie Scott*/Inventivity*/Oleo/Mean To Me*/Split Kick*/Friends Blues*/Stella By Starlight*/Interview by Les Tomkins with Hayes and Nistico* plus others.(*Candid 2 CD set - Inventivity)